JDC honors Yechiel Eckstein

Founder of interfaith fellowship has done ‘so much for world’s vulnerable Jews’.

By SAM SOKOL
JDC honors Yechiel Eckstein (photo credit: Oren Nahshon)
JDC honors Yechiel Eckstein
(photo credit: Oren Nahshon)
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee honored Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, with its Raoul Wallenberg award for his “profound contribution to the Jewish people” on Tuesday.
The ceremony took place at a Jerusalem event marking the JDC’s 100th anniversary.
The interfaith IFCJ group has worked to connect Jewish and Christian communities around the world and has been active in advocating for Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry.
IFCJ has raised over a billion dollars for Jews in need and is currently pouring funds into efforts to provide security for Jews in Ukraine.
“Rabbi Eckstein and IFCJ have done so much to help so many of the world’s most vulnerable Jews and we are proud of all that we have done together to reach so many in need,” said JDC CEO Alan Gill.
While some ultra-Orthodox groups have criticized Eckstein for his ties with evangelical Christians and banned their followers from accepting money from the IFCJ the group is accepted in the wider Jewish community.